iEx  Htbrts 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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THE  ICONOGRAPHY  OF 
THE  BATTERY  AND 
CASTLE  GARDEN 


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THE 
ICONOGRAPHY 

OF  THE 

BATTERY 

AND 

CASTLE  GARDEN 

BY 

WILLIAM  LORING  ANDREWS 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
MCMI 


JXP> 
A  til7? 


Copyright,  1901 
By  William  Loring  Andrews 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

AN  attempt  has  been  made  in  this 
little  book  to  produce  on  hand- 
made paper,  composed  of  linen 
rags  and  not  of  wood-pulp,  illustrations 
as  satisfactory  in  character  as  it  is  pos- 
sible to  obtain  by  the  use  solely  of  the 
reproductive  processes  of  the  present 
day.  The  plates  for  the  frontispiece  in 
color,  and  the  illustrations  on  the  title 
and  on  pages  3,  11,  14,  34,  35,  44  are 
made  by  a  half-tone  process  of  a  fineness 
and  a  delicacy  in  values  not  heretofore 
attempted. 

These  processes  have  come  to  stay 


ix 


Author  s  Note 

and  will  unavoidably  enter  into  the  con- 
struction of  the  great  mass  of  modern 
books.  We  are  forced  to  accept  the 
situation,  much  as  we  may  regret  the 
passing  away,  which  it  involves,  of  in- 
dividuality in  the  manner  of  the  execu- 
tion of  the  pictures  with  which  our 
books,  magazines  and  newspapers  are 
filled  and  the  substitution  therefor  of 
the  operation  of  a  mere  machine. 

The  type-setting,  printing,  plate- 
making  and  binding  of  this  book  have 
all  been  performed  under  one  roof. 
The  maker  of  it  was  obliged  to  seek 
only  for  the  paper  and  the  ink  outside 
of  the  fire-proof  building  in  which  it 
was  constructed. 


A  DESCRIPTIVE  LIST  OF  THE 
ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THIS  BOOK 


Castle  Garden  in  the  Middle  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  with  the  float- 
ing baths  moored  off  the  Battery  Frontispiece 

Copied  from  a  series  of  small  colored  lithographs  published 
probably  about  i860. 

Battery  and  Castle  Garden  Vignette  on  Title 

From  a  drawing  by  Geo.  Miller,  engraved  by  James  Smillie 
in  "The  Pocket  Annual"  published  by  J.  Disturnell, 
N.  Y.,  1848. 

A  Description  and  Plan  of  the  Battery  and 
old  Fort  George  as  they  existed  before  the 
Revolutionary  War       .    facing  page  3 

From  the  original  pen  and  ink  drawing  made  by  Col.  John 
Van  Dyk  in  1827,  formerly  in  the  possession  of  G. 
Furman,*  now  in  that  of  the  author. 

In  studying  this  plan  we  must  remember  that  "  as  late 
as  1 801  the  outside  street  on  the  west  side  of  the  town 
was  Greenwich  Street  from  the  Battery  up  to  Cedar  Street. ' ' 

♦Presumably  Gabriel  Furman,  author  of  14  Notes  Relating  to  the  Town  of 
Brooklyn." 


xi 


List  of  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Castle  Garden  from  the  Battery      .  3 

From  a  drawing  by  Wade,  engraved  by  Dougal  in  "  The 
Pocket  Annual"  published  by  J.  Disturnell,  N.  Y., 
1848. 

A  section  of  the  view  of  jpotottm  0nt0terO; 
tmmum  in  the  Besc^riftnng  ban  3mmka 

door  Arnoldus  Montanus.  1671  .  7 
A  section  of  the  view  of  jpteu  #m0terDam 
— plate  No.  92 — in  Peter  Schenck's 
Hecatomopolis;  A  Collection  of  100 
Views  of  Cities  of  the  World.  Am- 
sterdam, 1702  9 

A  section  of  "  A  Plan  of  the  City  of 
New  York  from  an  actual  Survey  "     1 1 

Made  by  James  Lyne.     Published  by  Wm.  Bradford, 
New  York,  173 1. 

A  section  of  "  A  Plan  of  the  City  of 
New  York  from  an  actual  Survey"  14 

Made  by  F.  Maerschalck,  City  Surveyor. 

Published  by  G.  Duyckinck,  N.  Y.,  MDCCLV. 

A  section  of  a  PLAN  of  the  CITY  of 
New  York  and  its  Environs  to 
Greenwich  on  the  North  or  Hudsons 
River  and  to  Crown  Point  on  the  East 
or  Sound  River  by  John  Montresor, 
Engineer.     New  York.     1766    .  .17 

xii 


List  of  Illustrations 

South-West  View  of  Fort  George  with 
the  City  of  New  York  

From  "Russell's  History  of  the  War  in  America,"  Lon- 
don, 1788. 

The  following  collation  of  the  four  different  states  in 
which  the  engraving  by  I.  Carwitham  (from  which  the 
above  described  picture  in  Russell's  History  was  copied), 
is  found,  has  been  kindly  furnished  the  author  by  Mr. 
R.  T.  H.  Halsey. 

1  A  View  of  FORT  GEORGE  with  the  CITY  OF 
NEW  YORK  from  the  S  W.  I.  Carwitham,  Sculp. 
No  publisher's  name.  Eight  reference  numerals  identi- 
fying prominent  buildings.  A  large  "V"  on  the 
upper  right-hand  corner  of  sky.  Uncolored. 

2  Similar  to  above  save  for  the  fact  that  beneath  the 
title  is  the  inscription  u  Printed  for  Carington  Bowles, 
Map  Printseller  at  No.  69  in  St.  Paul's  Church 
Yard,  London."  (This  store  was  occupied  by  Caring- 
ton  Bowles  from  1764  until  1793,  when  Bowles  & 
Carver  succeeded  to  his  business.  )  Colored. 

3  Similar  to  above  save  that  the  "  V  "  and  reference 
numerals  have  been  erased.  Upon  the  lower  left-hand 
border  appear  the  numerals  "35."  Colored. 

4  Title  changed  to  "  South- West  Vieiv  of  the  CITY 
of  NEW  YORK  in  North  America."  Above  the 
title  is  this  line — "London  Printed  for  Bowles  & 
Carver,  No.  69  St.  Paul's  Church  Yard."  Colored. 

The  plate  in  its  last  state  is  still  in  existence  and  im- 
pressions from  it  are  in  circulation. 

It  can  be  safely  stated  that  this  view  was  made 
between  1 764  and  1 776,  as  it  shows  St.  Paul's  Chapel, 
which  was  erected  on  the  former  date,  and  Trinity 
Church,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1776. 

xiii 


List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 


A  copy  of  this  engraving  in  the  first  state  is  in  the 
Library  of  Congress.  A  copy  in  the  second  state  is  in  the 
collection  of  Mr.  R.  T.  H.  Halsey.  A  copy  in  the  third 
state  is  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Holden,  and  a  copy 
in  the  fourth  and  last  state  (barring  the  restrike)  is  in 
the  possession  of  the  writer. 


A  section  of  the  Plan  of  the  City  of 
New  York  Engraved  by  P.  R.  Maver- 


Showing  the  location  of  the  Government  House,  indicated 
by  the  No.  24.    No.  1 5  denotes  the  Bowling  Green. 


View  of  the  Government  House  (later 


for  1795   25 


Goodrich  in  his  "  Picture  of  New  York,"  1828,  states 
that  the  Government  House  was  pulled  down  in  181 1, 
and  with  the  ground  upon  which  it  stood  and  its  garden, 
was  in  1 8  1 2  offered  to  be  sold  by  the  State  to  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  City  of  New  York  for  $50,000,  but 
President  King  of  Columbia  College,  in  a  lecture  deliv- 
ered in  1852,  on  "  The  City  of  New  York  and  its  Pro- 
gress During  the  last  Fifty  Years,"  gives  the  date  of  its 
demolition  as  after  18 14,  and  thus  describes  the  building 
and  its  surroundings:  "  Another  edifice  of  note  was  the 
Government  House  which  stood  on  an  eminence  at  the 
foot  of  Broadway  south  of  Bowling  Green.  The  house 
was  a  large  double  brick  building  with  a  showy  portico  in 
front  to  which  the  ascent  was  by  many  steps  ;  the  apart- 
ments were  many  and  spacious  and  the  yard  and  garden 
behind  extended  to  Bridge  Street,  and  occupied  the  whole 


List  of  Illustrations 

PAGE 

block  bounded  by  State  Street  on  the  west,  and  by  White- 
hall Street  on  the  east." 

The  Batters  and  Harbour  of  New 
York  and  the  Ambuscade  Frigate.  .  27 

From  "  Letters  Written  during  a  Tour  through  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States  of  America,"  by  John 
Drayton,  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  1794. 

A  section  of  the  Map  in  "  Views  in 
New  York  and  its  Environs  from 

DRAWINGS  BY  DaKIN,  ARCHITECT"       .   3  I 
Published  by  Peabody  &  Co.,  New  York,  183 1. 

Landing  of  General  Lafayette  at 
Castle  Garden^  New  York,  16th  Au- 
gust, 1824.        .      .      .      .      .  .33 

From    a  drawing  by    Imbert.      Engraved   by  Samuel 
Maverick. 

New  York  Harbor  from  the  Battery  34 

From  a  drawing  by  Wade  5  engraved  by  Booth  in  the 
"  Picturesque  Tourist,"  published  by  J.  Disturnell,  1844. 

EXTRACT 

"  Of  the  public  squares  the  Battery  is  the  principal.  It 
affords  a  fine  view  of  the  bay  and  harbor,  and  of  the  ad- 
jacent islands  and  opposite  shores.  It  contains  about 
eleven  acres  of  ground,  laid  out  in  gravel  walks  and  orna- 
mented with  trees  and  shrubbery.  As  a  public  promenade 
it  is  probably  not  surpassed  in  the  beauty  of  its  situation 
and  general  attractions  by  any  other  in  the  world.  A 

xv 


List  of  Illustrations 

castle,  built  on  a  mole  in  the  harbor,  is  connected  with 
the  grounds  by  a  bridge,  and  is  now  used  as  a  place  of 
amusement,  and  for  the  exhibition  of  fire  works." 

Merchants'  Exchange,  Wall  Street, 
New  York  

From  the  original  drawing  by  C.  Burton  for  Hinton's 
(J.  H.)  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  London,  1830. 

EXTRACT 

11  Built  of  white  marble,  114  feet  front  in  Wall  Street, 
depth  extending  back  to  Garden  Street,  1  50  feet.  Main 
building  two  stories  high  besides  the  basement  and  attic 
story.  From  the  attic  story  a  flight  of  stairs  leads  to  a 
room  in  the  cupola  where  the  telegraphic  signals  are 
which  are  returned  from  the  telegraph  at  the  Narrows, 
lY2  miles  distant. 

"The  cost  of  this  building  including  the  ground  was 
230,000  dollars.  It  was  commenced  in  1824  and  com- 
pleted in  three  years.  It  was  destroyed  in  the  great 
fire  on  the  night  of  Dec.  16th,  1835,  which  in  fifteen 
hours  destroyed  an  area  of  fifty  acres  of  the  most  valuable 
business  part  of  the  city;  674  houses  and  stores  were  con- 
sumed in  this  the  most  disastrous  conflagration  that  has 
ever  visited  the  City  of  New  York." 

Interior  of  Castle  Garden  . 

From  a  woodcut  in  a  magazine  article  entitled  14  New 
York  Daguerreotyped,"  published  about  1865. 

EXTRACT 

"  Castle  Garden,  the  unique,  remains,  where  opera,  music 
and  the  drama  are  presented  by  turns.  It  is  a  hall  of  un- 
equalled advantages  for  public  exhibitions,  which  was 
originally  a  fort,  but  has  long  been  appropriated  to  the  re- 
fining arts  of  peace." 

xvi 


List  of  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Bay  and  Harbor  of  New  York  from 
the  Battery  41 

From  Bourne's  "Views,"  New  York,  1831. 

Steamboat  Landing,  Pier  No.  i,  North 
River,  as  seen  from  Battery  Park  44 

From  Disturnell's  "  Pocket  Annual,"  New  York,  1848. 


THE  ICONOGRAPHY  OF 
THE  BATTERY  AND 
CASTLE  GARDEN 


THE   BATTERY    AND   FORT  GEORGE   IN    PRE-RE VOLUTION ARY  DAYS 


CASTLE  GARDEN  FROM  THE  BATTERY.      1 848 


THE  ICONOGRAPHY  OF  THE 
BATTERY  AND  CASTLE  GARDEN 

IT  was  in  the  closing  years  of  the 
seventeenth  century  that  the 
southwest  extremity  of  the  Island 
of  Manhattan — anciently  known  as 
Schreyer's  Hook — was  first  laid  out  as 
a  public  park  for  the  use  and  behoof 
of  the  people  of  New  York.  A  ledge 
of  rocks  called  the  Capske  reared  its 
black  craggy  head,  garlanded  with  sea- 
weed, above  the  blue  waters  off  the  out- 

3 


The  Iconography  of  the 

ermost  point  of  the  island;  and  as  a 
state  of  war  existed  between  France 
and  England,  and  it  was  feared  that 
the  enemy  contemplated  a  descent  upon 
the  city,  the  Governor  of  the  Province 
of  New  York,  Colonel  Benjamin  Flet- 
cher, determined  to  "  erect  a  platform 
on  the  outmost  point  of  rocks  under 
the  Fort,  whereon  to  build  a  battery 
commanding  both  rivers. "  He  there- 
fore issued  a  proclamation  requiring  the 
Mayor,  Recorder  and  Aldermen  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  and  Manning's  * 
(Blackwell's)  and  Barent's  (Great  and 
Little  Barn)  Islands  "to  cut  down  86 
cordes   of  stockadoes   of    1 2   feet  in 

*  Black  well's  Island  was  at  this  time  the  property  of 
Captain  John  Manning,  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
fort  at  Bowling  Green,  who  in  August,  1673,  surrendered  it 
to  the  Dutch,  for  which  act  of  treachery,  as  it  was  called, 
he  was  sentenced  to  have  his  sword  broken  over  his  head. 
He  settled  the  island  upon  his  step-daughter  Mary,  who 
married  Robert  Blackwell,  from  whom  it  received  the  name 
it  has  borne  to  the  present  time.  See  Mrs.  Martha  J. 
Lamb's  "  History  of  the  City  of  New  York." 


4 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

length  and  to  have  them  in  readiness  to 
be  conveyed  to  New  York." 

These  defensive  works,  constructed  in 
i  693,  extended  from  the  present  White- 
hall Street  westward  two  or  three  hun- 
dred feet  and  were  commonly  known  as 
the  Whitehall  Battery.  About  the  same 
time  that  the  Battery,  which  Governor 
Fletcher  found  "itt  of  absolute  neces- 
sity to  make,"  was  constructed,  steps  were 
also  taken  for  rilling  up  the  ground 
around  the  Fort  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
creasing its  area  and  laying  it  out  as  an 
esplanade  and  pleasure-ground.  As  such 
it  has  remained  from  that  day  to  this, 
and  although  latterly  it  has  fallen  upon 
evil  times,  has  been  greatly  encroached 
upon  and  sadly  defaced  by  the  heavy  iron 
trestle-work  of  the  elevated  road,  it  still 
remains  the  most  delightful  spot  on  earth 
to  all  true  Knickerbockers  and  the 
bourne  towards  which  they  turn  with 
longing  and  delight. 

i 


The  Iconography  of  the 

The  appearance  of  this  end  of  the 
island  when  the  Dutch  traders  first  built 
their  thatched-roofed  huts  upon  it,  is 
displayed  in  the  print  on  page  twenty- 
one  of  the  "  Beschrijvinghe  van  Vir- 
ginia, Nieuw  Nederlandt,  etc.,  t'Amster- 
dam  1651," — provided  this  engraving  is 
what  it  purports  to  be,  and  not,  as 
some  have  ventured  to  assert,  a  clever 
concoction  of  Joost  Hartgers,  the  pub- 
lisher of  this  rare  and  valuable  little 
tract.  However  this  may  be,  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  the 
view  inset  in  the  map  in  Adriaen  vander 
Donck's  "Nieuvv-Nederlandt,"  which 
engraving  shows  a  narrow,  barren,  and 
rather  precipitous  shore  with  a  number 
of  one-and-a-half-story  houses  nestling 
closely  as  if  for  protection  under  the 
walls  of  Fort  Amsterdam.  This  and 
nothing  more  was  the  condition  of  the 
southernmost  point  of  the  island  of 
Manhattan,  Anno  Domini  1656,  as  it 

6 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


NOVUM  AMSTERODAMUM.      I  67  I 


is  depicted  in  Vander  Donck's  "Des- 
cription." There  are  nc  signs  anywhere 
of  the  sunflowers,  and  red  and  white 
lilies  which  Mynheer  Donck  tells  us 
the  Netherlanders  found  growing  in  pro- 
fusion and  to  which  they  added  roses, 
tulips  and  gilliflowers — or  of  the  kitchen 
and  herb  gardens  in  which  our  Dutch 
great-grandmothers  found  heartsease  and 
comfort,  and  which  under  their  careful 
husbandry  throve  apace  and  produced 

7 


The  Iconography  of  the 

goodly  store  of  cabbages  and  pump- 
kins, rosemary,  marjoram,  lavender  and 
thyme. 

In  the  view  inset  in  Hugo  Allard's 
second  map,  1673  (?),  the  ground  in 
front  of  the  Fort  (from  which,  by  the 
way,  the  windmill,  which  waves  its 
outstretched  arms  over  that  structure  in 
all  the  earlier  pictures,  has  disap- 
peared) presents  much  the  same  ap- 
pearance that  it  does  in  the  Visscher 
and  Vander  Donck  maps,  except  that  a 
second  row  of  houses  is  shown  standing 
directly  upon  the  brink  of  the  water. 
As  every  other  picture  of  New  York, 
down  to  the  one  engraved  by  William 
Burgis  in  171 7,  is  simply  a  replica  of 
the  foregoing,  Burgis's  six-foot  pano- 
ramic view  is  our  next  resource.  Un- 
fortunately the  extremity  of  the  island  in 
this  picture  is  almost  entirely  hidden  by 
the  ruins  of  Whitehall,  the  former  resi- 
dence of  Governor  Thomas  Dongan, 

8 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


NIEU  AMSTERDAM.  I702 


and  this  "South  Prospect  of  ye  Flourish- 
ing City  of  New  York"  is  of  little  or  no 
assistance  to  us  in  our  present  quest. 
Views  or  maps  of  the  island  of  Manhat- 
tan and  the  city  of  New  York  for  one 

9 


The  Iconography  of  the 

hundred  years  and  more  after  the  arrival 
of  the  Dutch  are  few  and  far  between; 
and  so  we  come  in  short  order  to  the 
Bradford  map  of  1 73 1 .  The  word  Bat- 
tery does  not  appear  upon  it,  but  it  ex- 
hibits the  open  ground  or  Parade  around 
the  Fort  and  a  Ledge  of  Rocks  extending 
from  Whitehall  one  thousand  feet  and 
over  to  the  westward,  so  that  it  would 
appear  that  Governor  Fletcher  did  not 
quite  reach,  as  he  intended,  the  outmost 
point  of  rocks  with  his  platform. 

In  1734  the  Battery  was  ordered  to 
be  "kept  clear  of  houses  from  White- 
hall Street  to  Eelds'  corner,"  now  Mar- 
ketfield  Street.  This  date,  therefore, 
probably  marks  the  period  when  the 
one-and-a-half-story  buildings  in  front 
of  the  fort,  or  their  successors,  which  are 
so  prominent  in  the  Visscher,  Vander 
Donck,  Allard  and  Montanus  Maps, 
were  finally  removed. 

In  1756  William  Smith,  Chief  Justice 
10 


SECTION  OF  THE  BRADFORD  MAP.    I  73  I 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

of  the  Province  of  New  York  until,  as  a 
Tory,  he  was  obliged  to  flee  the  country, 
completed  a  history  of  the  Province  of 
New  York  from  the  first  discovery  to 
the  year  1732  in  which  he  inserted  a 
large  folding  plate  entitled  "The  South 
View  of  Oswego  on  Lake  Ontario. " 
New  York  print-collectors  have  always 
felt  aggrieved  that  Justice  Smith  did  not 
give  them  a  picture  of  the  chief  town  of 
the  Province  instead  of  a  view  of  this  far 
western  settlement.  He  forces  us  to  ac- 
cept the  word-picture  (from  which  we 
extract  the  following  short  paragraph) 
in  lieu  of  the  engraved  one  we  feel  that 
we  had  a  right  to  expect  as  a  frontis- 
piece in  a  work  of  this  importance  on 
the  Province  and  City  of  New  York  : 

"  Below  the  walls  of  the  garrison 
(Fort)  near  the  water  we  have  lately 
raised  a  line  of  fortifications  which  com- 
mands the  entrance  into  the  Eastern  road 
and  the  mouth  of  Hudson's  River.  This 
13 


The  Iconography  of  the 


THE  DUYCK.INCK  MAP.  MDCCLV 


Battery  is  built  of  stone,  and  the  merlons 
consist  of  cedar  joists  rilled  in  with  earth. 
It  mounts  92  cannon  and  these  are  all 
the  works  we  have  to  defend  us."  Hap- 
pily the  Duyckinck  Map  compensates 
us  for  the  shortcomings  in  the  way  of 
illustrations  in  the  work  of  Justice 
Smith  and  his  son  (who  wrote  a  con- 

«4 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

tinuation  of  his  father's  history  from 
1732  to  1762),  and  shows  the  situation 
and  appearance  of  the  fortifications  at 
the  Battery  at  the  precise  period  cov- 
ered by  their  history,  Duyckinck's  Map 
being  dated  1755.  Many  of  the  rocks 
lying  off  the  Battery,  as  shown  in  the 
Bradford  Map,  disappeared  under  this 
line  of  fortifications. 

A  fine  line  and  stipple  engraving,  and 
as  charming  a  picture  of  the  upper  Bay 
and  the  City  of  New  York  as  we  possess, 
is  the  long  and  narrow  view  taken  from 
Governor's  Island  which  decorates  the 
large  plan  (three  by  four  feet  in  size)  of 
the  City  of  New  York  by  B.  Ratzer, 
1 766-1767.*  This  picture  and  the 
ground  plan  of  the  Battery  and  old  Fort 

*The  Fieiv,  however,  has  above  it  this  line  :  "  London. 
Published  according  to  Act  of  Parliament,  January  12, 
1776,  by  Jefferys  and  Faden,  Corner  of  St.  Martin's  Lane, 
Charing  Cross."  This  would  indicate  that  the  date  of  the 
picture  is  ten  years  later  than  the  one  inscribed  upon  the 
plan  to  which  it  is  attached. 

"5 


The  Iconography  of  the 

George  [alias  Fort  Anne  and  sundry 
other  aliases),  made  by  Colonel  John 
Van  Dyk,  a  captain  of  Artillery  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  clearly  define  and 
present  to  view  the  construction  and 
appearance  of  the  Battery  as  it  existed 
when  the  first  great  crisis  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  country  was  approaching. 
The  trouble  that  was  brewing  be- 
tween England  and  her  Colonies  kept 
the  mother  country  busy  spying  out  the 
land  and  sounding  the  harbors  of  her 
rebellious  children.  Among  the  charts 
and  war  maps  which  Great  Britain's 
ministers  made  haste  to  prepare  at  this 
momentous  period,  we  find  the  plan 
surveyed  in  the  winter  of  1766*  by 
the  military  engineer,  John  Montresor, 

*  Most  of  the  impressions  of  this  Plan  that  we  see  are 
dated  1775,  but  a  copy  in  the  Exhibition  of  New  York 
Maps  and  Views,  held  at  the  Lenox  Library  in  February, 
1 901,  is  dated  1766,  and  consequently  we  are  obliged  to 
assign  to  it  this  date,  which  makes  it  coeval  with  the  Ratzer 
Map.  Is  one  a  copy  of  the  other  ?  If  so,  which  is  the 
original  ? 

16 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

which  gives  a  scientifically  accurate 
ground  plan  and  full  description  of  the 
Fort  and  Battery  at  New  York  and  their 
means  of  offense  and  defense.  The  ex- 
terna/appearance  of  these  structures  from 
the  water  side  is  shown  in  I.  Carwith- 
am's  engraving  published  in  London  by 
Carington  Bowles  about  1770.  This 
print  was  afterwards  published  by  Messrs. 
Bowles  &  Carver,  a  firm  of  print-sellers, 
which,  a  London  book-seller  has  correct- 
ly stated,  did  not  exist  prior  to  1 794,  as  is 
shown  by  an  examination  of  the  Lon- 
don Directories  in  the  British  Museum. 
This  is  damaging  to  the  reputations 
of  Messrs.  Bowles  &  Carver,  for  it 
proves  that  they  were  guilty  of  either 
gross  carelessness  or  intentional  misrep- 
resentation in  leaving  the  British  flag 
flying  over  the  fort  at  the  Battery. 
Rumors  must  have  reached  their  ears 
of  the  evacuation  of  New  York  by  the 
English  forces  in  1783,  eleven  years 
19 


The  Iconography  of  the 

before,  and  of  the  consequent  disappear- 
ance then  and  thenceforth  forever  of 
every  emblem  of  British  sovereignty 
from  this  island. 

This  attractive  picture  fortunately  was 
reproduced  on  a  smaller  scale  in  Russell's 
"History  of  the  War"  (1788)  and  so 
brought  within  reach  of  a  modest  purse, 
which  the  Carwitham  print,  by  reason 
of  its  scarcity,  certainly  is  not.  Russell 
also  neglected  to  lower  the  flag  of  Albion 
in  his  picture  as  the  truth  of  history  re- 
quired him  to  do  and  the  Union  Jack 
still  floats  in  vain  pretence  over  the  City 
of  New  York. 

About  the  year  1788  it  was  resolved 
to  remove  the  old  Fort,  now  partially 
in  ruins,  and  erect  upon  the  site  a  resi- 
dence for  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  This  building  was  known  as  the 
Government  House;  the  stones  from  the 
demolished  Fort  were  used  in  the  founda- 
tions. The  appearance  of  this  old  Fort- 
20 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


SECTION  OF  MAP  OF  P.  R.  MAVERICK,  1798(f) 

SHOWING  THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  HOUSE  [NO.  2.4) 


ress,  immediately  before  its  demolition, 
and  of  the  ground  adjacent  to  it,  which 
later  became  known  as  the  Battery,  is 
thus  described  by  a  contemporary  writer : 
"  First  a  green  bank  which  was  slop- 
23 


The  Iconography  of  the 

ing  about  fourteen  feet  high,  on  which 
were  erected  the  walls  (of  the  Fort)  of 
about  twenty  feet  additional  height.  In 
front  toward  the  Bowling  Green  were 
two  apple  trees  and  an  old  linden  tree, 
which  were  about  the  same  height  as  the 
walls." 

The  view  of  the  Government  House 
here  reproduced  from  the  plate  in  the 
New  York  Magazine  of  January,  1795, 
is  taken  from  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  Battery  near  the  end  of  Greenwich 
Street.  "It  exhibits  a  part  of  the  city 
and  some  portion  of  the  green  and  walk 
on  the  Battery. " 

John  Drayton's  "  Tour  through  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States  in  1794" 
contains  a  pretty  copper-plate  engraving 
of  the  Battery  from  a  drawing  by  the 
author  himself.  It  is  an  important  little 
picture  in  the  iconography  of  New  York 
City,  for  it  is  the  only  one  in  existence, 
so  far  as  I  know,  which  shows  the  Bat- 
24 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

tery  at  this  particular  time  from  the  land- 
ward side.  This  view  is  accompanied  by 
the  following  interesting  narrative  from 


THE  BATTERY  AND  HARBOUR  OF  NEW  YORK.    I  794 


the  pen  of  our  distinguished  visitor  from 
South  Carolina: 

"  After  passing  these  islands  we  came 
opposite  the  Battery,  which  is  at  the  ex- 
treme point  of  the  town,  and  is  situated 
much  like  that  which  was  at  White  Point 
at  Charlestown.  It  has  no  merlons  or 
embrasures,  but  the  guns  (which  are 
27 


The  Iconography  of  the 

thirteen  in  number)  are  placed  upon 
carriages  on  a  stone  platform  en  barbette, 
some  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
water.  Between  the  guns  and  the  water 
is  a  public  walk,  made  by  a  gentle  de- 
cline from  the  platform,  and  going  round 
the  ground  upon  which  the  Battery  is 
placed.  Some  little  distance  behind  the 
guns  two  rows  of  elm  trees  are  planted, 
which,  in  a  short  time,  will  afford  an 
agreeable  shade.  The  flag  staff  rises 
from  the  midst  of  a  stone  tower,  and  is 
decorated  on  the  top  with  a  golden  ball; 
and  the  back  part  of  the  ground  is  laid 
out  in  smaller  walks,  terraces  and  a  bowl- 
ing green.  Immediately  behind  this 
and  overlooking  it  is  the  Government 
House. " 

This  drawing  by  Colonel  Drayton 
depicts  the  Battery  at  the  particular 
period  when  Dr.  Francis,  the  New  York 
extra-illustrator's  benefactor  par  excel- 
lence, first  knew  the  "charming  place." 
28 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

Dr.  Francis's  reference  to  the  Battery  in 
his  "  Old  Yorker,  or  Reminiscences  of 
the  Last  Sixty  Years"  (New  York,  1865), 
is  of  especial  interest  to  the  arboriculturist 
by  reason  of  the  account  it  gives  of  the 
introduction  into  this  country  and  the 
expulsion  therefrom  of  the  Lombardy 
poplar  tree. 

Dr.  Francis  informs  us  that  his  first 
visit  to  the  Battery  was  on  the  occasion 
of  the  funeral  of  General  Washington. 
"The  procession  gathered  there  and  about 
the  Bowling  Green.  The  Battery  was 
then  profusely  set  out  with  Lombardy 
poplar  trees  introduced  into  the  country 
by  the  elder  Michaux,  who  had  been 
sent  to  America  from  the  Jardin  des 
Plantes,  of  Paris.  It  was  pronounced  an 
exotic  of  priceless  value,  but  like  many 
things  of  an  exotic  nature  it  polluted 
the  soil,  vitiated  our  own  more  stately 
and  valuable  indigenous  products,  and 
was  finally  eradicated  as  uncongenial 
29 


The  Iconography  of  the 

and  detrimental  to  the  native  riches  of 
American  husbandry/' 

In  1806,  four  hundred  feet  of  ground 
under  water,  on  which  Castle  Garden 
now  stands,  was  ceded  to  Congress  by 
the  corporation  of  the  City  of  New 
York;  and  Castle  Clinton,  then  called 
the  South  West  Battery,  was  erected  on 
the  mole  constructed  on  these  water 
lots  and  connected  with  Battery  Park 
by  abridge.  It  is  built  of  Jersey  red  sand- 
stone. As  to  the  date  of  the  erection 
of  Fort  Clinton,  the  doctors  disagree. 
One  authority  says  1  806;  another  1  807— 
8—9 ;  another  1 8 1  1  ;  and  still  another 
1  8  14.  The  truth  probably  lies  midway 
betwixt  the  extremes.  Battery  Park  at 
this  time  contained  about  ten  acres,  and 
the  water  front  extending  in  a  crescent- 
shape  from  Whitehall  Street  to  Market- 
field  Street  (now  Battery  Place)  is 
stated  to  have  measured  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile. 


jo 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


SECTION  OF  MAP  IN  PEABODY's  VIEWS.      I  83  I 


In  1822,  Castle  Clinton  (so  named 
after  the  War  of  1812),  when  it  had 
been  dismantled  and  the  garrison  had 
31 


The  Iconography  of  the 

been  removed  to  Governor's  Island,  was 
ceded  back  to  the  Corporation  of  the 
City  of  New  York  by  the  United  States 
Government;  and  in  1 824,  the  Fortress, 
whose  period  of  usefulness  appears  to  have 
been  exceedingly  brief,  entirely  lost  its 
martial  character.  It  was  leased  by  the 
Corporation  for  a  period  of  five  years  at 
an  annual  rental  of  fourteen  hundred 
dollars.  The  lessees  covered  it  with  a 
roof  and  converted  it  into  an  immense 
apartment,  which  was  considered  at  the 
time  to  be  the  largest  audience-room  in 
the  world.  This  was  fitted  up  as  a 
promenade  and  place  of  entertainment 
and  immediately  became  a  fashionable 
resort.  The  grand  "  Fete  and  Gala," 
given  to  Lafayette  on  his  second  visit  to 
this  country  in  September  of  this  year, 
was  attended  by  about  six  thousand  per- 
sons and  "far  transcended,"  it  was  said, 
"in  splendor  any  pageant  ever  before  wit- 
nessed in  the  United  States."     The  gay 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


and  lively  appearance  of  the  Battery  on 
the  occasion  of  this  notable  festival  is 
shown  by  the  scarce  little  print  of  "The 
Landing  of  Lafayette,"  which  we  re- 
produce. It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
flag-staff  rising  out  of  a  square  stone 
tower,  which  was  compared  by  Irving 
in  his  "History  of  New  York  "  to  the 
handle  of  a  gigantic  churn,  is  as  con- 
spicuous in  this  as  it  is  in  Drayton's 
earlier  picture. 

Now  began  the  peaceful,  palmy  days 
of  the  Battery  and  Castle  Garden.  "  The 

33 


The  Iconography  of  the 


NEW  YORK  HARBOR  FROM  THE  BATTERY.     1 844 

felicitous  situation  of  this  spot,"  writes 
Goodrich  in  his  "  Picture  of  New  York 
in  1828,"  "and  the  combination  of 
objects  that  are  here  presented  to  the 
eye,  caused  a  rush  of  genteel  company 
during  the  warm  season  that  was  quite 
unprecedented  in  our  City."  "The 
Hudson  River  with  its  rugged  western 
border,  stretching  far  to  the  north,  the 
near  view  of  large  ships  of  war  and 
merchantmen  moored  off  in  the  river, 
or  the  harbor,  the  arrival  and  depart- 
ure of  steamboats  at  various  hours  of  the 


34 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


merchants'  exchange,  wall  street.  1830 

SHOWING   THE   TELEGRAPH   ABOVE   THE  DOME 


day,  crowded  with  passengers  and  noisy 
with  bells,  steam  and  bugles,  and  foamy 


35 


The  Iconography  of  the 

in  their  progress,  the  distant  forts  and 
not  infrequently  the  firing  of  cannon 
from  them,  and  also  from  shipping,  the 
large  and  dry  terrace  and  parterres  of  the 
Battery  walk  usually  swarming  with  visi- 
tors, the  fine  trees  and  regular  and  hand- 
some private  dwellings  around  the  east 
side  of  the  Battery,  the  telegraph  at 
work,  the  distant  hills  of  Staten  Island 
and  New  Jersey  covered  with  verdure, 
and  forming  a  background  to  a  noble 
expanse  of  water  and  a  harbor  thirty 
miles  in  circumference.  These  are  the 
attractions  that  cause  the  Castle  Garden 
of  New  York  to  be  the  most  favored 
place  of  public  resort." 

The  telegraph  referred  to  by  Good- 
rich was  a  line  of  signals  extending  from 
the  Exchange  in  Wall  Street,  by  way  of 
Staten  Island,  to  Sandy  Hook,  by  means 
of  which  intelligence  was  conveyed  to 
the  city  from  incoming  vessels.  The 
poet  Halleck  has  immortalized  this 
36 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

primitive  mode  of  communication  in 
the  lines  which  recite  how  Fanny's 
father  in  the  days  of  his  short-lived 
prosperity  learned 

M  to  distinguish  well 
The  different  signals  whether  ship  or  schooner 
Hoisted  at  St  at  en  Island ;  and  to  tell 
The  change  of  wind  and  of  his  neighbor  s  fortunes.'''1 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century  Castle  Gar- 
den remained  a  popular  place  of  amuse- 
ment and  the  Battery  a  rallying-spot  in 
civic  festivities,  and  the  starting-point 
for  processions  or  military  parades  in 
honor  of  distinguished  visitors  or  in  cele- 
bration of  national,  state  and  other  an- 
niversaries. During  the  pleasant  sum- 
mer-time frequent  exhibitions  of  fire- 
works and  balloon  ascensions  brought 
thousands  of  people  to  this  cool  retreat 
to  enjoy  the  invigorating  breezes  fresh 
from  the  sea  and  regale  themselves  with 
ice-cream  and  the  other  delicacies  of 

37 


The  Iconography  of  the 

the  season  served  in  the  booths  which 
lined  the  shaded  Battery  walks. 

In  1850  Jenny  Lind,  under  the  man- 
agement of  the  great  showman,  P.  T. 
Barnum,  delighted  with  her  nightingale 
notes  the  thousands  who  crowded  Castle 
Garden  to  listen  to  her  wonderful  voice. 
Later  the  metamorphosed  interior  of  the 
grim  fortress  "  rang  with  the  melodious 
tones  of  Malibran,  Grisi  and  Mario,  the 
great  tenor,  singing  in  opera  under  the 
direction  of  Max  Maretzek."  But  their 
songs  were  soon  hushed,  for  the  Garden 
in  1855  was  turned  into  a  depot  for  newly 
landed  emigrants.  It  was  still  connec- 
ted with  the  mainland  by  a  bridge;  but 
Battery  Park  was  shortly  afterwards  en- 
larged, extended  to  the  Castle,  and  build- 
ings were  erected  thereon  for  the  recep- 
tion and  accommodation  of  the  crowds 
of  "  unbidden  European  guests,  who 
landed  on  the  shores  of  Manhattan," 
and  were  thence  "forwarded"  as  expe- 
38 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


INTERIOR  OF  CASTLE  GARDEN.  1852(F) 


ditiously  as  possible  "  to  the  fertile  re- 
gions of  the  great  West." 

In  1  890  the  offices  of  the  Emigration 
Commissioners  were  removed  to  Ellis 
Island,  and  in  1896  Castle  Garden  was 
opened  as  a  public  aquarium,  which  it 
still  remains. 

The  "New  York  Mirror,"  "Bourne's" 
and  "  Peabody's  Views  "  supply  pleasing 
39 


The  Iconography  of  the 

pictures  of  the  Battery  in  the  first  quar- 
ter of  the  last  century  when  as  a  pleasure 
resort  it  was  in  its  heyday  of  prosperity. 
By  these  pictures  we  see  that  it  was 
well  planted  with  trees  and  shrubbery, 
laid  out  into  gravel  walks  and  surrounded 
on  the  water  side  by  a  sea-wall  of 
masonry  surmounted  by  wooden  posts 
and  rails.  A  paved  walk  around  this 
embankment  furnished  a  delightful 
promenade  for  the  thousands  of  visitors, 
young  and  old  and  of  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions in  life,  who  frequented  the  spot 
and  could  thence  enjoy  a  view  of  Gov- 
ernor's, Bedlow's  and  Ellis's  islands, 
the  shores  of  New  Jersey  and  Long 
Island,  and  the  harbor  alive  with  mov- 
ing craft,  which  Goodrich  so  graphically 
describes.  The  front  of  the  Battery 
towards  State  and  Whitehall  Streets, 
which  is  not  shown  in  any  of  these 
engravings,  was  fenced  in  with  an  iron 
railing  which  was  removed  at  the  same 
4o 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 


BAY  AND  HARBOR  OF  NEW  YORK  FROM  THE 
BATTERY.       I  83  I 


time  as  were  those  which  surrounded 
the  other  City  Parks. 

For  a  number  of  years  floating  swim- 
ming baths  were  towed  in  the  Spring 
from  their  winter  moorings  to  the  Bat- 
tery and  there  stationed  during  the  sum- 
mer solstice,  to  the  frantic  delight  of  the 
youth  of  New  York  and  the  comfort 
and  refreshment  of  many  of  their  elders. 

We  cannot  close  our  monograph  more 
felicitously  than  by  quoting  Washing- 
41 


The  Iconography  of  the 

ton  Irving's  reference  in  his  "  Knicker- 
bocker's History  of  New  York"  to  this 
ideal  spot  among  our  pleasure-grounds 
and  breathing-places. 

"  Originally  this  point  of  land  was 
fortified  by  the  Dutch,  who  threw  up 
embankments  upon  which  they  placed 
some  pieces  of  cannon.  In  process  of 
time  it  came  to  be  pleasantly  overrun 
by  a  verdant  carpet  of  grass  and  clover, 
and  their  high  embankments  overshaded 
by  wide-spreading  sycamores,  among 
whose  foliage  the  little  birds  sported 
about,  rejoicing  the  ear  with  their  melo- 
dious notes.  The  old  burghers  would 
repair  of  an  afternoon  to  smoke  their 
pipes  under  the  shade  of  their  branches, 
contemplating  the  golden  sun  as  he 
gradually  sank  in  the  west,  an  emblem 
of  that  tranquil  end  towards  which  them- 
selves were  hastening  ;  while  the  young 
men  and  the  damsels  of  the  town  would 
take  many  a  moonlight  stroll  among 
42 


Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

these  favorite  haunts,  watching  the  chaste 
Cynthia  tremble  along  the  calm  bosom 
of  the  bay  or  light  up  the  white  sail  of 
some  gliding  bark,  and  interchanging 
the  honest  vows  of  constant  affection. 
Such  was  the  origin  of  that  renowned 
walk,  The  Battery,  which,  though 
ostensibly  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  war, 
has  ever  been  consecrated  to  the  sweet 
delights  of  peace.  The  favorite  walk 
of  declining  age;  the  healthful  resort  of 
the  feeble  invalid  ;  the  Sunday  refresh- 
ment of  the  dusty  tradesman ;  the  scene 
of  many  a  boyish  gambol;  the  rendez- 
vous of  many  a  tender  assignation ;  the 
comfort  of  the  citizen  ;  the  ornament 
of  New  York  and  the  pride  of  the  lovely 
island  of  Mannahatta." 

The  Battery  is  geographically,  a 
uniquely  situated  bit  of  terra  jirma  on 
this  island  of  ours,  and  holds  a  proud  pre- 
eminence among  our  city  parks  which 
it  must  continue  to  enjoy  until  in  "the 

43 


The  Battery  and  Castle  Garden 

wrecks  of  matter  and  thecrush  of  worlds," 
some  wild  convulsion  of  nature  blots 
out  of  existence  our  beautiful  bay  and  its 
setting  of  emerald  hills. 


STEAMBOAT  LANDING,  PIER  NO.   I,  NORTH  RIVER, 
AS  SEEN  FROM  BATTERY  PARK 
1848 


tajixo  u  ri^- 


